As we go through life, we get a pretty clear picture of the things we like to do, things we have to do and will do, and the things we really dislike doing and put them off as long as possible.
I have hit that stage. It has become as clear as crystal that I enjoy writing musicals. I can stick to it for hours on end developing the ideas and bringing them to life. But after they have been launched, I really have a hard time going back to edit and re-edit and re-read and then go through with a fine-toothed comb and re-edit again. Even when I had grown to love the characters and their worlds, revisiting them for long stretches, cleaning up and refining the scripts and scores is tedious and meticulous work. No wonder I have put off this job for so long!!!
I have been redoing my web pages so that all of my music and Musical plays' Scripts and Piano/Vocal Scores and recordings can be had for immediate digital download at SMP Press. (They even gave me my own Composer Landing Page with a Biography and everything.) That online catalogue has a very broad, worldwide audience so this move just makes sense. But it also means going through every show to structure the Director's Scripts and Piano/Vocal Scores and Production Kits in a way that would be user friendly. One show in particular has been a big job. I had written the music for this show at the computer and away from the piano. So, it had no Piano/Vocal Score. Most shows I make sketches for at the piano, but this score called for exotic sounds that did not translate well to piano, so I just wrote it using the host of interesting instrumental sounds available on my notation software. For those of us that do not have access to a "pocket orchestra" this is the next best thing.
Working with older files that have to be converted and brought up to date with new software is also a pain. You end up with multiple copies of everything and have to remember how you relabeled the latest version so that you don't waste time trying to find the file you were last working on. Gotta love technology --- but it can be so frustrating!!!!!!! And talk about the learning curve just to keep up with the latest software updates! (%#*%#^*%^##!) And just when you think you have the final edits just right, you go back through and find that you have miss-numbered the pages! Aaaaagh!!!!!!!!
Last week I simply had to take a break. I turned on a murder mystery movie and sat and crocheted an afghan. Yeah. I needed that.
I have hit that stage. It has become as clear as crystal that I enjoy writing musicals. I can stick to it for hours on end developing the ideas and bringing them to life. But after they have been launched, I really have a hard time going back to edit and re-edit and re-read and then go through with a fine-toothed comb and re-edit again. Even when I had grown to love the characters and their worlds, revisiting them for long stretches, cleaning up and refining the scripts and scores is tedious and meticulous work. No wonder I have put off this job for so long!!!
I have been redoing my web pages so that all of my music and Musical plays' Scripts and Piano/Vocal Scores and recordings can be had for immediate digital download at SMP Press. (They even gave me my own Composer Landing Page with a Biography and everything.) That online catalogue has a very broad, worldwide audience so this move just makes sense. But it also means going through every show to structure the Director's Scripts and Piano/Vocal Scores and Production Kits in a way that would be user friendly. One show in particular has been a big job. I had written the music for this show at the computer and away from the piano. So, it had no Piano/Vocal Score. Most shows I make sketches for at the piano, but this score called for exotic sounds that did not translate well to piano, so I just wrote it using the host of interesting instrumental sounds available on my notation software. For those of us that do not have access to a "pocket orchestra" this is the next best thing.
Working with older files that have to be converted and brought up to date with new software is also a pain. You end up with multiple copies of everything and have to remember how you relabeled the latest version so that you don't waste time trying to find the file you were last working on. Gotta love technology --- but it can be so frustrating!!!!!!! And talk about the learning curve just to keep up with the latest software updates! (%#*%#^*%^##!) And just when you think you have the final edits just right, you go back through and find that you have miss-numbered the pages! Aaaaagh!!!!!!!!
Last week I simply had to take a break. I turned on a murder mystery movie and sat and crocheted an afghan. Yeah. I needed that.
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